Rebounding from his Cathie Black appointment, which is currently being challenged in the New York State courts, the New York dictatorial mayor who controls the public school system announced this week that he will close 26 more schools.
Under the guise that he is closing poorly performing schools, Mr. Bloomberg’s Department of Education Phase-Out Unit announced on December 7 (Pearl Harbor Day) the list of doomed institutions.
Last year, Bloomberg announced that 20 schools were to close. The NAACP, numerous community groups and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) took the DOE to the courts and prevented those closings.
The Coalition for Public Education urges all schools to challenge the closings by all means at their disposal. Closings destroy neighborhoods and uproots families. We advise the DOE to fix the schools and abandon the concept of closing schools.
Some suggestions on fighting school closings:
1. Get all of your elected officials involved (Council person, Assembly person, State senators, representatives)
2. Get all of the school unions involved (DC 37, UFT, PTA and others)
3. Get parents, PTA and community groups (block associations, merchants) involved
4. Tell the children of the school what is happening. Urge them to write letters to keep our schools open.
5. Retain a lawyer (pro bono/pay). Take out a restraining order, show cause, charge cruel and unusual punishment
6. Have fundraisers and other events to keep people involved
7. Fight to win–five out of 20 originally closed are open today